Introduction

I know that I tend to talk about AI, and “Vibe” Coding. I use it as part of my role and have a deep interest in AI. Sadly, my new blog seems to have been taken over by blogs posts talking about AI and Artificial Intelligence.

And that is because I am genuinely excited about AI. It really has an amazing potential to automate a lot of the workflows in our life and give us a better, less work oriented life so that we can focus on passions, art, creative endeavors, hobbies, and the things we often find ourselves “working” for. After all, in my case, I work to live rather than live to work.

AI has a tremendous possibility to liberate us from the slavery of traditional labor. And while that might sound communist/socialist/utopian to you the reader, I really do believe this from what i have seen. Vibe coding being one of those, where I can focus on solving problems and speeding up effort rather than troubleshooting esoteric environmental considerations, or pouring over documentation to see if a solution exists or i need to focus on learning something i will use only once.

Higher level coding languages, machines, and technology do this. After all, a few hundred years ago, almost all of us would spend the majority of our time on food production. A trifle to us now as we get in our car to buy groceries. But there is a cost and consideration to this new technology that I am personally happy to see being discussed. What is the cost?

Well, let’s dive into the Ethics and Philosophy of what we are starting to talk about. And for clarity’s sake, when i mention “AI” I am meaning LLMs and Multimodal models like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, and all other consumable AIs via a chat interface and natural language.

An Education

There has been a lot of news and reporting on the rise of “cheating” in the education field using Artificial Intelligence. While AIs such as ChatGPT are phenomenal parts this, I find it more of an incitement of where education is rather than evidence of what AI taking over. So let’s discuss what I mean by looking at education.

What is Education in 2025? And really, what is and has been education during the last decade? Well, it is an awkward step we all have to do to get a professional job. For example, if you want to work in Business Management, you have to get an education in Business Management. The same for Engineering roles, like Electrical Engineering, or civil engineering. Or Medical roles, like becoming a nurse, or working as a medical assistant. But is this what education is for today?

For full transparency, I went to school after my Mormon mission in 2011 for International Relations and Shipping logistics. I had a desire to take the language I had learned, Korean, and work in the field of International Relations. I wanted to get a job with the state department as a diplomat, focusing on supply chains, especially ethical ones like those easily found in the nation of South Korea. But something happened on this education journey.

I ran out of money.

School had doubled from the first classes i took before my mission. Generals education was literally half per semester in 2008 after i graduated. by 2011 it had doubled and I could no longer work 2 jobs as an EMT at Wendover Ambulance and Security Guard/Rescuer for Kennecott, and also go to school full time. I tried working for a Radio Station due to the flexibility and weekend work, and campus jobs as a diplomat for the Internation Student Office, and in the school radio station, and go to school full time. At the time, I was trying to start a family and work full time, and go to school. So I made the decision to join the Army National Guard for education benefits.

While in the Guard, I was injured in the line of duty, and while getting surgery and treatment, I had to return to my civilian life and work. Money was tight even though military was taking care of my medical needs, i was not constantly on orders, and as a guardsman, I had to work. So i started learning and developing my skills as a Software Engineer, and grew my skills until I was employed. I did not go to school for Computer science (though, I have taken courses for CS while learning), but I am not a degree holder. I am a self taught engineer, at a staff level at my current company. I did not need a piece of paper to get where I am today. But, I am currently back in school, and there is an answer as to why.

Because I need that paper to continue progressing. Not because school will unlock knowledge to do my job, as I am already doing it. But to unlock the paper ceiling that sits between where I am now, and executive leadership. So school, in this, and almost all cases, is to get a better job. Not to learn, although learning is a side effect if someone chooses to do so. But I have knowledge that what I am working on right now will for the most part, not contribute to my jobs. Especially if I just am seeking to pass.

And this is why cheating with AI, in my opinion, is so rampant. Not because people don’t need education. But because they are going to higher education to get a piece of paper to get a better job. And that is a problem with education, not necessarily AI, though AI enables this.

Art

Another criticism of AI, has been in the generation of artwork. One need only to look as far as Youtube and Instagram to find art that was generated by AI. Images, Videos, entire books, and songs. I find them fascinating, amazing, beautiful, and also not art. They are a parody of art, but lack the craft, which gives art its intrinsic value.

I fancy myself a photographer. A real, legit one, not just someone who takes photos. I try to tell stories, and think about photos often. To become better at photography, I have taken up oil painting, water coloring and drawing. Not because I am good at them, but because the nature of story telling, color, and composition improve one another. This is what AI can’t fully replicate in authenticity, but rather in parody. Like taking a photo of the Mona Lisa and proclaiming i am an oil painter.

Or like this blog post, where i have turned off my AI tools to correct my wording and grammar, to let the words remain imperfect before you. Because this post is more art than it is informative like the others.

And that is the problem with how people are approaching art with AI. In my life, I use AI in my art. primarily as a reference. Explaining camera settings, as an aid for how to understand technology i want to tell a story about, and as a helper in achieving a vision with information, such as what weather may have the best effect on the Golden Hour of photography, and so on. I use it like a teacher, rather than as the doer. After all, my teacher’s art is theirs, and it is ungenuine to say it is mine if I am in an art class.

And this is the part of the discussion around feelings about AI. I mean, I am typing on a computer rather than writing this, or penning on paper for distribution, so you could make the argument that by using a digital means of communicating easily, isn’t that is a way similar to using AI to get the idea to output? And I would say fair. Just as i would say that penning this on paper would be a more sincere and higher form of art than this blog post hosted on my website.

AI is just the lowest form of parody art. Just as showing someone of photo of me at the Mona Lisa’s location is a low form of art, not considered art by many. AI books, images, songs and all sorts of AI art are just that. A parody of art and life. Fun, useful, and copies of things we love.

So What’s the Use with AI?

Now that we have gone after the problems identified by others, what’s the deal? Why have hope in it for the future, or why should I want to use it if it is just a parody cheat method? Or how do I use it as a tool rather than something that will just “do the work” for me?

By Changing the way we think about it and interact with it.

Rather than thinking of it as a workflow automation process, we should imagine AI as an automation of a human expert. And by that, I mean, automating the conversation you would have with another person in regards to conversational knowledge building. Like asking how do sorting algorithms work?, or how many people commute from Salt Lake City to West Valley City?, or what are current theories to remove space junk?. Talk to them like you would talk to a professor, rather than having them be a task completions. While AI can excel at this task, what are you gaining from it doing something like Write me an email, 200 words, to say i will attend the party?

You can even use it to expand your knowledge or help with research. I am currently writing a paper on the origin of clowns. Could you provide me with research materials on the origin of clowns? Include references.

This is what in the industry we call “Prompt Engineering.” Or how we interact with AI to assist us in natural language. But the key here that the output is designed to not just give me answers, but rather help me expand my knowledge. It is similar to the way “Ask Jeeves” or “Google” used to work for us, but in a way that can act like a human - take pretrained knowledge and provide research for our request. Rather than just pour over forums, reddit threads, and documentation sites ourselves.

The key here is using it as a tool rather than automation routine. But what about automation tooling? Like n8n, Claude Code, Copilot/Google Assistant/Siri?

Well, let’s think about the theory of automation. Why and what should you automate?

Automation Distilled

Automation is the process of taking routine, frequent, or repeatable tasks, and creating a mechanism to complete the task with little to no human involvement. The usefulness in Automation is taking high skill tasks or tasks that take a long time and happen frequently, and freeing up human time to be used elsewhere.

Some common examples of automation for example is a plow. The shovel and hoe were automated away with the horse and ox plow, which the tractor automated away. And humans needed to spend less time on commercial food production, allowing the labor capital (Measured in man hours) to be spent making things, rather than working fields. The automation here freed up human capital enough that i can take the skills of working a field, and apply them to my garden. And just as useful as plowing a filed is on a commercial scale, that level of automation would be a waste of my time on a small level.

What are some other examples of Automation in our life that are more relatable?

• Getting your oil changed at a lube shop, even though you might know how to do it yourself.
• Using a computer to manage your bills rather than going into the utility offices to pay via a check.
• Driving a car over walking or biking to a location - automation that frees up time spent walking to be time spent with your family.
• A programming language like Python, that when executed converts to hexadecimal and binary so I can concentrate or words rather than mathematical operators.

Back to What the use of AI is

So now to the elephant in the room. Agentic AI and AI workflows/automation. What is the use of this? Well, as explained in the automation section, it is to help us automate automateable things in our lives. n8n for example can be used to pour over emails in your email account looking for keywords that require our attention, and pushing a notification to our device about critical email we should address. Or it can perform research for us on a task list to give us further context for our day. None of these are “replacing” a role, or a job, or a workflow. They expand our ability to be productive.

And while that might sound gross, lets think of it more as a way to complete tasks faster and free up more time. For example, we could probably work 6 hours rather than 8 and be paid the same with AI integrated in our live. Who would’nt love 10 hours a day after work for family, hobbies, and life.

Well, if AI can code, why have Software Engineers? If it can Design Bridges, why have Civil Engineers? If it can solve complex questions related to emails being sent, why have Administrative Assistants, Sales Staff, and a workforce?

Because this automation doesn’t ask the big question. How does it free up brilliant thinkers to think brilliantly? Calculators can perform math for example, but they can’t answer why they are doing math. Humans are an important part of the organism that is an organization or company. Directing AI to assist us should be the goal rather than eliminating positions.

Just as home garden goods are so beloved by us now, that Farmers markets thrive. Because the pure art of thoughtful, loving growing of a small garden, will beat out flavorless forever tomatoes, meat raised on pellets, and the bland, safe, maximum shelf life food of commercial farming.

In Conclusion

I mentioned this before, that I am excited for AI. I find the current time we are alive in amazing, excited, and a little bit spooky. After watching a coding AI generate code in a speed i also couldn’t, I had a moment of being a blacksmith working on horseshoes watching a car drive by. And like a blacksmith, I started learning better engineering to keep up.

AI is here. A genie let out of the bottle by our desire for automation and meaningful progress. And it is beautiful. Working with it, generating fun images, having fun with its automation, and dreaming of the possibilities reminds me of the first time i sat down at a computer as a child, booting up my first game and marveling at the graphics, and the freedom I had in this new cyber space. Or connecting to the internet and exploring the new free internet.

And to use AI, we have to think critically about what it does and what we want. I don’t want to read AI generated books. I want to read crafted novels spoken in the words of a true person. I want to look at oil paintings and ponder brush strokes. I want to contemplate the narrative of the composition of a photo, and have it make me feel things as I see what the photographer wanted me to see. I want to build and develop cool applications that help the digital world and physical world help us grow. I want to help the medical field solve problems, the legal system be clearer, and build equality of the internet for us all to interact and communicate.

And I don’t want to work forever in an office troubleshooting compilers. :)

• AI
• Ethics
• Technology